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Call it a TKO win for IBM, as years of jabbing over a variety of patents held by IBM and disputed by Amazon have ended with Amazon agreeing to pay licensing fees for them. The actual payoff was not disclosed by IBM when they announced the Amazon settlement. IBM played Mayweather to Amazon's De La Hoya and went the distance to score what was certainly a rich purse.

Scott Hayden, Amazon’s VP of Intellectual Property, said: "IBM’s patent portfolio is the largest and strongest in the IT industry. Our license to its portfolio, and specifically to its Web technology patents, gives us greater freedom to innovate for our customers."

Dan Cerutti, IBM’s General Manager of Software Intellectual Property, said: "We're pleased this matter has been resolved through negotiation and licensing. We look forward to a more productive relationship with Amazon in the future."

IBM filed their two lawsuits in Texas on October 23, 2006. They accused Amazon of infringing on five patents, one of which is titled, "Ordering Items Using an Electronic Catalogue."

"Dating back to September 2002, IBM has notified Amazon.com numerous times of the infringement, but Amazon.com has shown no willingness to have meaningful discussions," IBM said at the time of the lawsuits being filed.